1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and device for stabilizing a motorcycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the course of the last few decades, the motorcycle has graduated from being a cost-effective means of locomotion into a leisure vehicle in which emphasis is increasingly being placed on the safety and the comfort of the driver.
As was the case with automobiles several years ago, motorcycles are also increasingly being equipped with anti-lock brake systems (ABS). EP 0 548 985 B1 discloses, for example, an anti-lock brake device for motorcycles.
In the context of motorcycles, an “integral brake system” is understood to be a brake system in which activation of the handbrake lever or of the footbrake lever additionally causes the brake of the second brake circuit to be applied. It is therefore possible to actuate both brakes by activating a single activation element. Integral brake systems for motorcycles are known, for example, from DE 38 03 563 A1 and DE 103 16 351 A1.
Owing to the increased safety and/or the improved comfort it is to be expected that in future integral brakes will be used to an ever greater degree in motorcycles, said integral brakes assisting the driver in performing the braking operation through an active buildup of pressure at the front wheel and/or rear wheel, therefore ensuring an optimized braking distance.
DE 10 2005 003 255 A1 discloses a brake system for motorcycles, which brake system ensures the functionality of ABS and an integral brake in a structurally simple design.
In the case of straight-ahead braking, unstable driving states, which cannot be detected by an anti-lock brake system and correspondingly compensated, can occur in a motorcycle for various reasons. A number of examples will be given below in an exemplary fashion. On the one hand, in the case of a strong braking operation, the rear wheel is relieved of loading. The less ground contact the rear wheel has, the fewer lateral guidance forces it can transmit. The motorcycle is then relatively sensitive to interference influences. As a result of, for example, side wind or unevennesses in the roadway, the rear part of the motorcycle may veer off laterally, or the vehicle may be excited to oscillate. Furthermore, a rear wheel which is over-braked, even if only briefly, can also cause the motorcycle to yaw.